‘Exiled Tibetans Reject China's White Paper’
(ANI News | Dharamshala | June 4, 2004)

Dharamshala: Exiled Tibetans living in India have rejected a white paper issued by China that reaffirms Tibet's status as a part of China. The 30-page document is the first of its kind and squeezes the already slim hopes of a political solution that might allow Tibet's spiritual leader, The Dalai Lama, to return home.

Tenzin Tsundue, the general secretary of the "Friends of Tibet", termed the white paper a "black" one. "We do not listen to this. We condemn this paper and we reject it," Member of Parliament Karama Choephel said. Other leaders said the white paper negated Tibetan aspirations and wondered how Beijing expected them (the Tibetans) to respond to it.

"It also gives a signal to the Tibetan people that now we have to opt for another method to resolve Tibetan issues. So, here in the panel discussion we have been very much against the white paper. And they think that a response from the Tibetan government-in-exile must come as soon as possible," said Tenzin Samphel, the vice-president of the Tibetan Youth Congress.